Kwun Tong Line (MTR)
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This is the complete route map of the Kwun Tong Line. Note that the Fortress Hill, Whampoa and Ho Man Tin stations are not in service yet, and interchange stations are not denoted. |
The
Kwun Tong Line (
Chinese: 觀塘綫) is one of the seven lines of the
MTR network in
Hong Kong. It starts at
Yau Ma Tei in
Kowloon West and ends at
Tiu Keng Leng in
Tseung Kwan O, Sai Kung. It is indicated in
green on the
MTR map. During the morning rush, the Kwun Tong Line needs 27 trains on the tracks and keeps a 2.1-minute train interval. It currently travels through 15 stations in 27 minutes along its route.
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Geographically accurate map of the MTR Kwun Tong Line |
The Kwun Tong Line is the first MTR line to enter service, and was a crucial part of the MTR "Modified Initial System". It's construction was approved in November
1975.
On
1 October 1979 service commenced on the Kwun Tong Line. The line ran between
Shek Kip Mei station and
Kwun Tong station, and each train consisted of four cars.
With extensions to the south, the line reached
Tsim Sha Tsui on
31 December 1979, and a year later on
12 December 1980 it reached first
Central station (named
Charter by then), crossing the
harbour for the first time.
The
Tsuen Wan Line started service in May
1982 and took over the section of the Kwun Tong Line south of
Argyle (present-day
Mong Kok).
Waterloo (present-day
Yau Ma Tei) station became the terminus of the Kwun Tong Line and both Argyle and
Prince Edward stations became interchange stations with the new line.
When the
Hong Kong government decided to build a second harbour crossing in
1984 (which would be known as the
Eastern Harbour Crossing), it awarded a franchise for the construction of a mixed rail and road
tunnel under the harbour. The Kwun Tong Line was the rail line using that tunnel and on
6 August 1989, it was extended over the
harbour again. This time the terminus was
Quarry Bay, and the intermediate station,
Lam Tin, was opened on
1 October of the same year.
As part of the
Tseung Kwan O Line project, Kwun Tong line was briefly extended to
North Point on
27 September,
2001 but soon diverted to
Tiu Keng Leng when the
Tseung Kwan O Line opened in August,
2002. The diversion was done in two phases:
Yau Tong interchange station was opened on
4 August,
2002 such that Kwun Tong Line did not cross the harbour anymore. Two weeks later (
18 August,
2002) the Kwun Tong Line was extended to
Tiu Keng Leng when the rest of the
Tseung Kwan O Line commenced service.
The
MTRC is proposing another extension of the Kwun Tong Line, from Yau Ma Tei to Whampoa (i.e.
Whampoa Garden in
Hung Hom). There is rumour that this line would cross the
harbour for the third time after this extension, with
Fotress Hill being the new terminus.
Kwun Tong Line is mostly underground, and runs from the west to east. It begins at
Yau Ma Tei station, and runs underneath Nathan Road along the route of the Tsuen Wan Line up to
Prince Edward. The line then moves east, and splits from the Tsuen Wan Line. The line then emerges after
Choi Hung station, and runs on a viaduct above Kwun Tong Road between
Kowloon Bay and
Lam Tin Stations.
After Lam Tin station, the line travels through a tunnel in a hill and emerges above ground level at
Yau Tong Station. (Although the line is completely covered at this point). The line also converges with the
Tseung Kwan O Line. The Kwun Tong Line will then travel through another tunnel beneath the Tsueng Kwan O cemetery before terminating at
Tiu Keng Leng, located in Tseung Kwan O.
This is a list of all the
stations on the Kwun Tong Line. The coloured boxes holding the station names represent the unique colour motif for the station.
Notes* Proposed
*
Full list of MTR stations*
Transport in Hong Kong*
List of buildings, sites and areas in Hong Kong*
Proposed extension to Ho Man Tin and Whampoa Garden (
Adobe Acrobat pdf format)
zh-yue:觀塘綫
